


warmth

by kaleidoscope_kat



Series: BokuAka Week 2020 [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: BokuAkaWeek2020, M/M, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:22:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25870528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaleidoscope_kat/pseuds/kaleidoscope_kat
Summary: He is alone. Walking in an endless world of white, an endless world of snow. It is blanketing the floor, giving it some sort of numbing comfort. In the corner of his eye, he sees others. Kids, perhaps in elementary or middle school, some even in high school by their height, although Keiji can’t put a name to any of them. They seem to be having fun, something of that sort. Laying on cold white-covered ground, arms spread out while moving them, up and down. Angels appearing on the ground, none too perfect yet they seem happy. Joyful.bokuaka week | day five - touch
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Series: BokuAka Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860544
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11
Collections: Bokuaka Week 2020





	warmth

He is fourteen when he first sees him.

It is freezing, the cold wind slightly tousling his hair as Keiji pulls his jacket a bit tighter, fixing his scarf. Gently pulling his gloves a bit higher, rubbing his gloved hands together as he shoves them in his pocket, clenching his teeth to keep from chattering.

A breath taken, white puffs on the air as Keiji feels a trace of warmth, disappearing along with the wind. The snow crunching underneath his feet as Keiji feels as though his feet are also going to freeze sooner or later. It is certainly chilly, bits of snow falling onto his hair as Keiji does nothing but repeatedly run his hand over it, as if trying to get some of the bits off. It is useless though, as he feels the snow melt through his fingertips, dripping onto his hair.

He is alone. Walking in an endless world of white, an endless world of snow. It is blanketing the floor, giving it some sort of numbing comfort. In the corner of his eye, he sees others. Kids, perhaps in elementary or middle school, some even in high school by their height, although Keiji can’t put a name to any of them. They seem to be having fun, something of that sort. Laying on cold white-covered ground, arms spread out while moving them, up and down. Angels appearing on the ground, none too perfect yet they seem happy. Joyful.

Standing there, time seems to fade away. Stops, for just a moment. 

Keiji wishes that he could perhaps go in the snow as well, do something stupid like them. Build snowmans or something. Live life as some sort of child, or even a teenager with a trace of childhood still there.

They don’t seem cold, he thinks. He knows actually, at the sight of their smiles, the sight of carefree actions, the freedom of it all. The sight of snowballs being made, sailing past areas. The sound of a  _ thump _ , a scream. A curse, but smiles and happiness nonetheless. 

Within the white, within the snow, within the delicate world, there’s a tuft of dual-colored hair. A bright smile, a wave. An echo down the streets. That is when Keiji realizes he has stayed too long, that he has been noticed. “D’ya wanna join or something?” He hears. The boy approaches him, golden eyes curious, somewhat like an owl. Keiji finds hands latched onto his arm, slightly tugging him in their direction.

His arm feels slightly warm in that moment, his whole body feeling less cold.

“I have other things to do,” Keiji says, yanking his arm out of the other’s grip. His grip is strong, Keiji realizes, and he uses more energy and strength than he would have expected to. At the end, it’s the other who lets go. Keiji turns away, dusting his clothes and fixing the nonexistent wrinkles as he walks away. It is a little colder when he hears the sound of another voice.

“Damn bro, he deadass rejected you.”

“Shut up Kuroo.”

Later when he gets back, Keiji shuts his eyes tightly, repaying the events. He does not know why, but he feels a slight trace of guilt, of hatred for his own actions. Was rejecting the boy so rudely necessary? At the time, it did seem necessary. Now, Keiji wasn’t so sure anymore.

There is one thought that echoes his mind though. Keiji hopes to never see the boy again, knowing that he would be suffocating in guilt. Knowing that even if the boy didn’t remember, Keiji would.

He sees him the next day. And the next. The same people are still playing in the same area, snow falling on them as Keiji notices none of them seem to mind, not at all. The snow seems to fall gently on the boy who talked to him the previous day, and he seems happy.

Keiji catches himself staring once more. He is sure the other boy has done the same, along with another one who seems close, with a ridiculous hairstyle. The one with the rooster-like hair seems to be wanting to do something, however the dual-colored hair boy from before seems to stop him.

Keiji is glad they don’t approach him. He isn’t sure what he would do if they did. Apologizing wasn’t his forte after all, neither was conversating. Nor was putting down his pride and talking to the others.

A while later, Keiji is starting to notice the dual-colored boy everywhere. In the aisles while Keiji is shopping, or perhaps at a corner in the library, smile radiating the room, a quiet kind of loudness. He shuts his eyes almost every time, slightly winces. It’s a hard task to avoid him, Keiji thinks. Impossibly hard. 

It is springtime and on a train where Keiji is forced to talk to him once more. This time, the weather is slightly warmer. There are buds forming on trees, some already blooming. Various hues and shades of warmer colors everywhere, pink petals decorating some of the areas. Like always, the lights of Tokyo city are bright, especially in the night. 

It is raining that day, making it colder than the other days. Keiji finds himself pulling his jacket closer once more, shoving his hands (ungloved this time), into his pockets as he boards the train, an impassive expression on his face as he hands the man his ticket.

It is only mid-trip that Keiji realizes he has chosen the wrong seat. With earbuds and a book in his hands, Keiji failed to notice that there was someone by him for quite a while, he thinks, as he knows the train has been moving since a long time ago.

His left shoulder feels warm. Some sort of pressure on it. Something tickling his neck as Keiji tilts his head slightly, before returning to his book, trying not to pay the man sleeping on his shoulder any mind.

In contrast to what most people would probably assume, Keiji doesn’t mind. It’s a foreign feeling, to have someone’s head leaning on your shoulder, but it doesn’t necessarily distract Keiji. It gives him a sense of warmth actually, and a chance to potentially observe the head.

It is strange observing someone when they sleep. Keiji feels slightly awkward doing it, as if he’s invading someone’s privacy. Nevertheless, he can't tear his eyes away from the way the teenager (?) breathes, as if he’s relaxed and as if he has no worries in the world. It is quieter than he expects actually, given snippets of personality he has seen from such a man. He has muscles, lots of them. Keiji assumes he has been working out, perhaps almost every day, maybe even more than that.

Keiji himself is more lean, someone who should probably work on his own strength. He’s faster than most though, more swift and agile. It is necessary to hone in such skills after all, being someone “gifted” enough to not be heard but to be seen.

The train squeaks to some sort of stop soon enough, an announcement echoing the whole compartment. Still, Keiji realizes the teenager does not stir. Perhaps he’s a heavy sleeper? That does seem like it, after all.

“The train has stopped,” Keiji finds himself saying, not knowing why if he was being honest. Perhaps it was a sudden spark of bravery, or utter stupidity. Nevertheless, he notices that the man still doesn’t stir, a sigh escaping his lips.

Keiji finds himself awkwardly poking the teenager with the owl eyes, wishing as if he would wake up sooner or later. He does, thankfully. Golden eyes opening slowly, slightly stretching (as Keiji feels a hand knocking almost knocking him in the chin, dodging quick enough). 

“Thanks!!” Keiji hears, head turning towards the man with the owl eyes as he nods out an acknowledgement. 

“It’s not a problem,” he replies, closing his eyes for a couple of seconds. “I… Didn’t mind,” Keiji adds, for good measure.

“Seriously? Okay okay, that’s good that’s good. Thank you anyways uh…” the man seems to pause, golden eyes looking at him quizzically, “Wait. You’re that dude aren’t you? Sorry about pulling you the other day, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or something.”

“Akaashi. That’s my name. Akaashi Keiji,” he answers, simply. He waves a hand in front of him. “Please don’t worry about the other day. It was… I wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable. It was just… New.”

The figure scrunches up his eyebrows, staring at Keiji intently, as if he was trying to figure something out. “You’re lying, aren’t you? You were kinda fiddling with your hands and what-not. And you stuttered.”   
  
A moment passes, a couple to be exact. Keiji’s surprised, although he forces himself to be impassive. It is impressive actually, that someone’s able to tell such a thing.

“Maybe I am. We should probably get off now,” he replies, bidding a small farewell as he gets off the train. He feels slightly happier that day, a bit warmer.

Until that is, when he realizes he didn’t catch the other’s name.

The next few weeks are a blur, as Keiji’s mind is occupied by a specific one. Eyes as golden as the sun, smile brighter than the stars in the sky. Actions animated, excessive, yet comfortable. As if he was willing to give any conversation his full attention, despite how boring it was. But also someone who was a quiet and heavy sleeper, barely bothering the other.

He is not everywhere anymore, merely just a trace. Keiji can’t find the man, and no matter how many times he boards the same train or walks the same street. 

It is one year later when he sees him again on the same street. It is snowing once more, the wind blowing against his hair. Keiji doesn’t mind, his hands are warm after all. In the corner of his eye, he sees the same people. This time, it is not the boy with the golden eyes that comes up to him, to invite him. This time it is him, approaching the other.

“May I join…?” He asks, hands in his pockets.

“Go ahead, Akaashi!! Go ahead.”

Later that day, he figures that it’s Bokuto who invited him, that it’s Bokuto who was on the train. That Bokuto Koutarou is the one with the golden orbs, and the warm touches.

And months later, it is his hand in Koutarou’s. His hand, that is slightly bigger than the other, although Koutarou never fails to bring warmth in his life, brings warmth, despite how small his hands are.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! and apologies about the late update once more. my mental health hasn't been the best currently, and well. school's starting.


End file.
